German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock’s trip to Australia is being delayed after her plane suffered a technical problem in the early hours of the morning while already in the air.

Burbock was expected in Australia today, the first stop on her week-long tour of the Oceania and Pacific region, which will also include visits to New Zealand and Fiji.

Nevertheless, after the stopover in Abu Dhabi (UAE) for refuelling, the aircraft carrying the Foreign Ministry and the rest of the German delegation had to dump most of its fuel overboard and turn back.

A spokesman for Ms Burbock’s services who was on the flight explained that “because mechanical problemwe have to go back to Abu Dhabi for security reasons. Options for further arrangements are under consideration.”

Shortly after takeoff, the captain informed the passengers that there was a problem because he could not raise the camber flaps. The aircraft landed again in Abu Dhabi at 05:33 [σ.σ. τοπική ώρα· στις 04:33 ώρα Ελλάδας].

It is unclear if and how the delay will affect travel.

The foreign minister plans to visit Canberra, the capital, as well as metropolitan Sydney. She is scheduled to meet her counterpart Penny Wong in Sydney.

According to the German Foreign Ministry’s website, he will discuss economic security, Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s role in the Asian region.

Tomorrow Tuesday in Canberra, Annalena Burbok is expected to participate in a ceremony to return archaeological treasures to Kaurna Aboriginal people.

It is not the first time that the German Foreign Minister faces a problem on her trip due to damage to a government aircraft. In mid-May, she had to wait in Qatar because her plane had a flat tire in Doha.

Nor is she the first German official to see her program upended by problems with Luftwaffe planes.

In November 2018, a German Air Force Airbus named Konrad Adenauer had to return to Germany while transporting then-Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf to Buenos Aires to attend the G20 summit Soltz, due to breakdown.

In October 2018, rodents chewed through some of the wiring on the same aircraft in Indonesia, where Mr. Soltz was returning from work.

While in December 2016, the then German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen, now president of the European Commission, saw her trip to Mali interrupted due to a computer problem on the Airbus A340 carrying her.